Arkansas Linemen Electrify Two Additional Guatemalan Villages

Fifteen Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas linemen recently completed a mission to electrify two remote Guatemalan villages near Huehuetenango resulting in approximately 320 villagers receiving electricity for their homes.
“After a year of planning, the men arrived in Guatemala on March 26 and then traveled approximately nine hours northwest to the remote villages of Las Flores and La Hacienta to ‘light up’ the land,” said Mel Coleman, CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative of Salem and vice president of the NRECA board of directors.
“This project was labeled as impossible in 2005,” said Mauricio Cobon Mazariegos, a village leader. “We were told that we should stop, but we continued working for our children and the future of our villages. Thank you for helping us.”
Linemen and their respective cooperatives that participated in the project are: Kenneth Byrd and Christopher Tedford with Arkansas Valley Electric of Ozark; James Ray Hassebrock and Mark Wayne Tomiello, Carroll Electric Cooperative of Berryville; Michael Counts and Craig Weisenbach, Clay County Electric of Corning; Randy Evans, First Electric Cooperative of Jacksonville; Shawn Dorflinger and Richard Freeland, Ouachita Electric Cooperative of Camden; Don Pinkley and Joe Cooksey, Ozarks Electric of Fayetteville; Steve Rooney, Petit Jean Electric Cooperative of Clinton; and Jimmy Dean Sharp and Todd Spakes, Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative of Texarkana. Doug Evans, safety manager for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, served as the project coordinator.“Today your dreams come true,” said Coleman, as he addressed hundreds of villagers at a celebration event on April 6 in Las Flores. “Many years ago, men and women in our state and nation worked to receive electricity just like you did. Thanks to the work of these dedicated linemen and the support of many others back home you have reached your goal.”
In addition to constructing power lines, the men assisted in distributing more than 1,000 pairs of shoes, hundreds of pairs of eye glasses, Bibles and other items to the villagers prior to departing the villages. The items were donated by Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas employees from across the state. Additionally, about $1,000 was donated by employees.
“Electric cooperative employees are dedicated to serving others and improving the quality of life for their friends and neighbors,” said Duane Highley, president/CEO of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. “The linemen on this mission volunteered their time and skills to provide the gift of light to these remote villages and, while the remainder of the state’s electric cooperative employees showed their support by their generous donations.”
Combined with a 2013 project, Arkansas electric cooperative linemen have assisted in providing electric service to more than 770 rural Guatemala residents that otherwise would not have service.
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives; Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides services to the distribution cooperatives; and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC), a generation and transmission cooperative. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to approximately 500,000 homes, farms and businesses in Arkansas and surrounding states.
For additional information, contact:
Rob Roedel, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, 501.570.2296 or [email protected]
www.aecc.com

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